Open Banking has emerged to enable accountants and bookkeepers to decode the financial narrative of new clients more swiftly and consistently, setting a better tone for a productive, ongoing relationship.
Onboarding clients swiftly and gaining seamless access to their transaction data is critical for accountants and bookkeepers. However, historically, this has been a significant hurdle. It’s rife with challenges and security concerns.
Here we will delve into the persistent issues accountants and bookkeepers face during onboarding in the area of data access, and how to immediately solve these issues.
Major Hurdle 1: Accessing Historical Data.
Often clients come to an accountant or bookkeeper when they’ve had troubles with their books. Often their books are a mess. The necessary next step for the accountant or bookkeeper is to get a clear historical picture of all the books.
That often needs to go back at least to the start of the current financial year, sometime further.
The first big hurdle is that most ways to access transaction data only goes back 3 or 6 months.
The frustration mounts. The back and forth with the client is frustrating for everyone to get more insights, even resorting to getting paper copies of their statements in some cases.
This tedious and protracted procedure obstructs the onset of the client relationship, delaying valuable financial insights and strategic advice.
The solution found in Open Banking: Open Banking has revealed itself as the savior to this confounding predicament.
Finally, with just a click of the mouse, every new client can give their accountant and bookkeeper full and complete access to every bank transaction they wish, including their historical transactions.
Major Hurdle 2: Gaps in data.
Commonly used bank data feeds provided by third parties often produce gaps in data. Not all transactions can be seen. Not all account-types can be accessed.
The solution found in Open Banking: Open Banking, now offers accountants and bookkeepers a complete view of all transactions. That is because the technology and systems now enabling access are 100% endorsed by banks. Banks no longer restrict access to transaction data.
This has been prompted by significant bank investment to meet new Open Banking regulation that insists they give this access to clients and their accountants and bookkeepers as trusted advisers.
Major Hurdle 3: Security troubles now avoided.
In an age where accountants and bookkeepers are more heavily scrutinized around the use of private financial data, the current system of accessing that data has become unacceptable.
For years third party data feed providers have effectively pretended to be the clients by using banking passwords to login and ‘scrape’ bank accounts for transactions.
Entrusting a third party to use passwords in this way leaves clients vulnerable to cyber fraud.
The solution found in Open Banking: The advent of bank-approved processes that encrypt the sharing of transaction data and remove the need for password sharing solves this problem.
How Open Banking fixes these concerns.
Open Banking addresses these concerns by introducing a centralised data access point through the Consumer Data Right (CDR) process, ensuring a smoother and more efficient onboarding experience.
- Setting the right tone. This process, when used in conjunction with services like ACSISS Adviser by SISS Data Services, helps set the stage for a productive and enduring client relationship, emphasising the ease of client satisfaction and value delivery.
CDR plays an important role in the secure sharing of transaction information. It will help accountants and bookkeepers to access all of their clients’ bank accounts in one place.
- A single source of truth without the security risks. By employing a single source for all transaction data, Open Banking establishes a robust security framework. This reassures accountants, bookkeepers, and clients alike, promoting trust and confidence in the data being exchanged and accessed.
- Open Banking facilitates standardisation. It creates a unified framework for data retrieval. Open Banking enables a seamless and consistent approach to obtain transaction data from various financial institutions, ensuring compatibility and ease of access.
- Uniformity empowers efficiency. This uniformity empowers accountants and bookkeepers to efficiently aggregate and analyse data without grappling with disparate systems.
- Immediately available. Open Banking allows data to be immediately available and consumers can now securely share with their accountants and bookkeepers via Accredited Data Recipients (ADR) like SISS Data Services.
This approach not only enhances security but also instills trust in the data being accessed. This means that accountants and clients can rely on the gathered data, knowing that it adheres to rigorous security and compliance standards.
This forges a foundation of trust, establishing Open Banking as a reliable and secure means to access transaction data for informed financial decision-making.
How to apply Open Banking today.
The challenges of onboarding clients swiftly and gaining secure access to transaction data have been prevalent for too long. Open Banking:
- Addresses onboarding delays, enhancing security, streamlining data access, and providing a bank-approved data source
- Ensures a more efficient and secure environment for accountants and clients alike.
- Assists smoother operations and fosters more informed client relationships.
It’s quick and easy to get started.
It just takes one simple step for accountants and bookkeepers to register for ACSISS Adviser. Once registered, the accountant or bookkeeper then sends an email link to the client. The client then takes two simple steps to give approval to access their data. No password sharing. No paperwork. It’s quick, painless, and easy.
No more questionable information gathering; streamline your accuracy and build trust among your clients before the year ends.